Mike Bellotti

My story on Stanford’s postseason situation is below. Doors that appeared shut have re-opened — even the one leading to the national championship game.(Yes, a spot in the NCG remains a fairly remote possibility. But for anyone who thinks the Cardinal has no chance: Please see 2007.)

But first, some Pac-12 observations:

*** Voters in the AP, Harris and Coaches polls are doing Oregon a huge disservice relative to Stanford, in my opinion. (Here is my ballot, by the way.)

There’s no way the Ducks should be 4-5 spots below Stanford one week after beating the snot out of the Cardinal on its home field when the only difference in record is a “neutral-field” loss to LSU. Stanford has no equivalent game on its schedule. It’s not only about wins and losses — otherwise, Houston should be No. 2, right? Whom you play matters.

*** USC is clearly the best team in the South and, for my money, the best team in the conference right now. (The Trojans have improved more than Stanford since Oct. 29.)

It’s the nightmare scenario for the league: the ineligible team wins the South, and nobody else is even ranked. The division is a mess. Who wants to watch UCLA, Utah or ASU against Oregon/Stanford in the title game? (ASU and UCLA fans don’t, that’s for sure).

But let’s remember the bigger picture: There will undoubtedly be years when the situation reverses and all the power is in the South. The divisions are for the long haul, not three months.

This time last year, what kind of odds could you have gotten on Erickson outlasting Stoops? It can change in a hurry.

Thoughts on the news:

*** The decision to fire a football coach is momentous, not only for the football program itself but the entire athletic department.

My sense is that Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne had been mulling Stoops’ future for weeks, if not longer, and the Oregon State game was simply the final straw.

Byrne watched an ill-prepared team fall behind 27-6 against an opponent it should have gone toe-to-toe with … he watched more special teams blunders … he watched some mystifying playcalling (Keola Antolin up the middle on the goalline? Really?) … and Byrne finally had enough.

Yes, the Wildcats had a brutal schedule in late 2010 and early 2011, but they kept getting their butts kicked: by 23 points to Oklahoma State, 27 to Stanford, 25 to Oregon.

Even the USC game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated: Arizona was down 34-12 midway through the third quarter.

(If Stoops had the program on steady ground, then at some point along the way the Wildcats would have either beaten one of the ranked opponents or been competitive for 60 minutes.)

Action: College football preseason “watch” lists released.Reaction I: Only one Pac-12 defensive lineman (Washington’s Alameda Ta’amu) was included on the 87-man list for the Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation’s top defensive player list, and only one (Ta’amu) was on the 65-man list for the Outland, given to the top interior lineman.Reaction II: Meanwhile, the conference had four quarterbacks on the 66-man list for the Maxwell, given to the nation’s top player … seven of the 75 receivers listed for the Biletnikoff … and five of the 34 tight ends listed for the Mackey.Reaction III: When it comes to Pac-12 games this season, bet the over.

The NCAA just released a highly-anticipated piece of information, at least in some circles: Academic Progress Rates attached to major college football and basketball coaches.

At long last, coaches are being held accountable on the academic front — or maybe not.

There are no penalties associated with the coaches’ APR scores, but nor are there many available excuses for the leaders of young men who aren’t doing the best job of, um, leading.

That’s because the APRs have been adjusted over the years to account for players who transfer or leave school early for the NBA/NFL (so long as those players are in good academic standings when they depart).

Action: Oregon president Richard Lariviere acknowledges that he pushed Mike Bellotti out after nine months as AD and expresses dismay over Bellotti’s unwritten contract and severance package.Reaction I: Each week it becomes more and more apparent to me that Bellotti 1) didn’t leave coaching voluntarily and 2) didn’t want to be an athletic director.Reaction II: If anything, Bellotti’s getting a bit of a bad rap. What, he’s not suppose to accept a $2.3 million golden handshake?Reaction III: All responsibility (blame?) falls on former athletic director Pat Kilkenny, who instigated the Kelly-Bellotti switcheroo, pushed Bellotti upstairs (presumably so he could kick back) and then didn’t bother to get Bellotti’s deals in writing.

Just watched the West Coast Conference tournament and the word “clinic” comes to mind …

Action: St. Mary’s thumps Gonzaga 81-62 to earn the WCC’s automatic bid.Reaction I: The Zags could have won the game on a 20-point play and it wouldn’t have mattered: A performance like that against a tournament team, combined with all the road wins (and no injury uncertainty) … and the Gaels were in The Dance no matter what.Reaction II: Gotta wonder if Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti was watching Randy Bennett’s team and thinking: “Now that’s how the game’s supposed to be played. Maybe I should hire that guy.” (It’s entirely possible, however, that Bellotti was bailing a football player out of jail.)

The Hotline isn’t calling for Ernie Kent’s job; Oregon fans are handling that just fine. But it sure seems hard to imagine Kent sticking around past March the way things are going.

It’s also hard to imagine any other Pac-10 job opening this spring, unless someone leaves for a better gig. So Kent’s the only coach on the hot seat (and his has got to be scalding).

For those who have not been scoring at home: Since their Week One sweep in Washington — which was surprising then and shocking now, given the recent results — the Ducks have lost five consecutive games.

Three of the five were at home and only one was by fewer than 14 points.

I caught up with new Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott on Saturday in the USC press box. He answered a bevy of question from assembled reporters about the LeGarrette Blount situation (see below), but I asked him about a few other issues, as well.

Tops on my list was the Alamo Bowl, which joins the Pac-10 lineup next season.

Scott confirmed what I’d heard: The Alamo won’t get the league’s No. 2 team; it will have the No. 2 pick.